Samuel Aaron Snape
by RIP CoryMonteith
Summary: What if Sirius remembered who Harry REALLY is? This is what would happen if he told Harry and Severus in the Shrieking Shack in Harry's third year. Who is Harry, really? After the first chapter it's a 'reading the books' fic. Sirius/Severus Harry/Ron T because of language.
1. Chapter 1-The truth

**Hi! This is my first ever fanfic...please no flames. Constructive criticism sure, but nothing that could potentially harm my self-esteem...it's low enough without help.**

**I do not own Harry Potter that's J.K Rowlings. I get no money for doing this...just the ability to get the little plot bunnies out of my mind.**

**This is a Severus/Sirius Harry/Ron story. As for the other pairings I don't know yet. I'm open to any suggestions. And if it's not clear Harry's appearance changed back to normal after the debacle in the Shrieking Shack.**

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**{Samuel Aaron Snape}**

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"Sirius, NO!" Lupin yelled, launching himself forwards and dragging Black away from Ron again, "WAIT! You can't do it just like that — they need to understand — we've got to explain —"

"We can explain afterwards!" snarled Black, trying to throw Lupin off. One hand was still clawing the air as it tried to reach Scabbers, who was squealing like a piglet, scratching Ron's face and neck as he tried to escape.

"They've — got — a — right — to — know — everything!" Lupin panted, still trying to restrain Black. "Ron's kept him as a pet! There are parts of it even I don't understand, and Harry — you owe him the truth, Sirius!"

Black stopped struggling, though his hollowed eyes were still fixed on Scabbers, who was clamped tightly under Ron's bitten, scratched, and bleeding hands.

"All right, then," Black said, without taking his eyes off the rat. "Tell them whatever you like. But make it quick, Remus. I want to commit the murder I was imprisoned for…"

"You're nutters, both of you," said Ron shakily, looking round at Harry and Hermione for support. "I've had enough of this. I'm off."

He tried to heave himself up on his good leg, but Lupin raised his wand again, pointing it at Scabbers. "You're going to hear me out, Ron," he said quietly. "Just keep a tight hold on Peter while you listen."

"HE'S NOT PETER, HE'S SCABBERS!" Ron yelled, trying to force the rat back into his front pocket, but Scabbers was fighting too hard; Ron swayed and overbalanced, and Harry caught him am pushed him back down to the bed. Then, ignoring Black, he turned to Lupin.

"There were witnesses who saw Pettigrew die," she said. "A whole street full of them…"

"They didn't see what they thought they saw!" said Black savagely, still watching Scabbers struggling in Ron's hands.

"Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter," said Lupin, nodding. "I believed it myself — until I saw the map tonight. Because the Marauder's map never lies… Peter's alive. Ron's holding him, Harry."

Harry looked down at Ron, and as their eyes met, they agreed, silently: Black and Lupin were both out of their minds. Their story made no sense whatsoever. How could Scabbers be Peter Pettigrew? Azkaban must have unhinged Black after all — but why was Lupin playing along with him? 'Trust them,' the voice said once again. Harry shook his head to clear it and went back to looking at the pair in front of her.

Then Hermione spoke, in a trembling, would-be calm sort of voice, as though trying to will Professor Lupin to talk sensibly. "But Professor Lupin… Scabbers can't be Pettigrew… it just can't be true, you know it can't…"

"Why can't it be true?" Lupin said calmly, as though they were in class, and Hermione had simply spotted a problem in an experiment with Grindylows.

"Because… because people would know if Peter Pettigrew had been an Animagus. We did Animagi in class with Professor McGonagall. And I looked them up when I did my homework — the Ministry of Magic keeps tabs on witches and wizards who can become animals; there's a register showing what animal they become, and their markings and things… and I went and looked Professor McGonagall up on the register, and there have been only seven Animagi this century, and Pettigrew's name wasn't on the list."

Harry had barely had time to marvel inwardly at the effort Hermione put into her homework, when Lupin started to laugh.

"Right again, Hermione!" he said. "But the Ministry never knew that here used to be four unregistered Animagi running around Hogwarts."

"If you're going to tell them the story, get a move on, Remus," said Black, who was still watching Scabbers' every desperate move. "I've waited twelve years; I'm not going to wait much longer."

"All right… but you'll need to help me, Sirius," said Lupin, "I only know how it began…"

Lupin broke off. There had been a loud creak behind him. The bedroom door had opened of its own accord. All five of them stared at it. Then Lupin strode toward it and looked out into the landing.

"No one there…"

"This place is haunted!" said Ron.

"It's not," said Lupin, still looking at the door in a puzzled way. "The Shrieking Shack was never haunted… The screams and howls the villagers used to hear were made by me."

He pushed his graying hair out of his eyes, thought for a moment then said, "That's where all of this starts — with my becoming a werewolf. None of this could have happened if I hadn't been bitten… and if I hadn't been so foolhardy…"

He looked sober and tired. Ron started to interrupt, but Hermione, said, "Shh!" She was watching Lupin very intently.

"I was a very small boy when I received the bite. My parents tried everything, but in those days there was no cure. The potion that Professor Snape has been making for me is a very recent discovery. It makes me safe, you see. As long as I take it in the week, preceding the full moon, I keep my mind when I transform… I'm able to curl up in my office, a harmless wolf, and wait for the moon to wane again.

"Before the Wolfsbane Potion was discovered, however, I became a fully-fledged monster once a month. It seemed impossible that I would be able to come to Hogwarts. Other parents weren't likely to want their children exposed to me.

"But then Dumbledore became Headmaster, and he was sympathetic. He said that as long as we took certain precautions, there was no reason I shouldn't come to school…" Lupin sighed, and looked directly at Harry. "I told you, months ago, that the Whomping Willow was planted the year I came to Hogwarts. The truth is that it was planted because I came to Hogwarts. This house" — Lupin looked miserably around the room, — "the tunnel that leads to it — they were built for my use. Once a month, I was smuggled out of the castle, into this place, to transform. The tree was placed at the tunnel mouth to stop anyone coming across me while I was dangerous."

Harry could see where this story was going, so she was listening raptly all the same. The only sound apart from Lupin's voice was Scabbers' frightened squeaking.

"My transformations in those days were — were terrible. It is very painful to turn into a werewolf. I was separated from humans to bite, so I bit and scratched myself instead. The villagers heard the noise and the screaming and thought they were hearing particularly violent spirits. Dumbledore encouraged the rumor… Even now, when the house has been silent for years, the villagers don't dare approach it…

"But apart from my transformations, I was happier than I had ever been in my life. For the first time ever, I had friends, four great friends. Sirius Black… Peter Pettigrew… Severus Snape... and, of course, your father, Harry — James Potter.

"Now, my four friends could hardly fail to notice that I disappeared once a month. I made up all sorts of stories. I told them my mother was ill, and that I had to go home to see her… I was terrified they would desert me the moment they found out what I was. But of course, they, like you, Hermione and you Harry worked out the truth…

"And they didn't desert me at all. Instead, they did something for me that would make my transformations not only bearable, but the best times of my life."

"My dad too?" said Harry, astounded.

"Yes, indeed," said Lupin though there was a strange look in his eyes as he agreed. "It took them the best part of three years to work out how to do it. Your father and Sirius here were the cleverest students in the school, and lucky they were, because the Animagus transformation can go horribly wrong — one reason the Ministry keeps a close watch on those attempting to do it. Peter needed all the help he could get from Severus and Sirius. Finally, in our fifth year, they managed it. They could each turn into a different animal at will."

"But how did that help you?" said Hermione, sounding puzzled. She had noticed his wording was strange and was beginning to wonder how close Sirius Black and Severus Snape really were.

"They couldn't keep me company as humans, so they kept me company as animals," said Lupin. "A werewolf is only a danger to people. They sneaked out of the castle every month under James's Invisibility Cloak. They transformed… Peter, as the smallest, could slip beneath the Willow's attacking branches and touch the knot that freezes it. They would then slip down the tunnel and join me. Under their influence, I became less dangerous. My body was still wolfish, but my mind seemed to become less so while I was with them."

"Hurry up, Remus," snarled Black, who was still watching Scabbers with a horrible sort of hunger on his face.

"I'm getting there, Sirius, I'm getting there… well, highly exciting possibilities were open to us now that we could all transform. Soon we were leaving the Shrieking Shack and roaming the school grounds and the village by night.

Sirius, Severus, and James transformed into such large animals, they were able to keep a werewolf in check. I doubt whether any Hogwarts students ever found out more about the Hogwarts grounds and Hogsmeade than we did… And that's how we came to write the Marauder's Map, and sign it with our nicknames. Sirius is Padfoot. Peter is Wormtail. James was Prongs. Severus didn't want his name put on it, he said he didn't need his name on it to know he helped create it."

"What sort of animal —?" Harry began, but Hermione cut him off. "That was still really dangerous! Running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you'd given the others the slip, and bitten somebody?"

"A thought that still haunts me," said Lupin heavily. "And there were near misses, many of them. We laughed about them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless — carried away with our own cleverness.

"I sometimes felt guilty about betraying Dumbledore's trust, of course… he had admitted me to Hogwarts when no other headmaster would have done so, and he had no idea I was breaking the rules he had set down for my own and others' safety. He never knew I had led four fellow students into becoming Animagi illegally. But I always managed to forget my guilty feelings every time we sat down to plan our next month's adventure. And I haven't changed…"

Lupin's face had hardened, and there was self-disgust in his voice. "All this year, I have been battling with myself, wondering whether I should tell Dumbledore that Sirius was an Animagus, Severus as well battled with himself. But I didn't do it. Why? Because I was too cowardly. It would have meant admitting that I'd betrayed his trust while I was at school, admitting that I'd led others along with me… and Dumbledore's trust has meant everything to me. He let me into Hogwarts as a boy, and he gave me a job when I have been shunned all my adult life, unable to find paid work because of what I am. And so I convinced myself that Sirius was getting into the school using dark arts he learned from Voldemort, that being an Animagus had nothing to do with it… so, in a way, Severus' been right about me all along."

"Severus?" said Black softly, taking his eyes off Scabbers; for the first time in minutes and looking up at Lupin. "What's Severus got to do with it?"

"He's here, Sirius," said Lupin kindly. "He's teaching here as well."

He looked up at Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Severus fought very hard against my appointment to the Defense Against the Dark Arts job. He has been telling Dumbledore all year that I am not to be trusted. He has his reasons… you see, Sirius here married him...and they had a child —"

Black made a noise that sounded as if he were in pain. "Little Samuel," he sighed. "I had brought him over to Lily and James' that night in Godric's Hallow -"

All three teens gasped in shock, "You gave up your own son to Voldemort?!" Harry asked incredulously. Sirius ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

"That's right," sneered a cold voice from the wall behind Lupin.

Severus Snape was pulling off the Invisibility Cloak, his wand pointing directly at Lupin.

Hermione screamed. Black leapt to his feet. Harry felt as though he'd received a huge electric shock.

"I found this at the base of the Whomping Willow," said Snape, throwing the cloak aside, careful to keep this wand pointing directly at Lupin's chest. "Very useful, Harry, I thank you…"

Snape was slightly breathless, but his face was full of suppressed triumph. "You're wondering, perhaps, how I knew you were here?" he said, his eyes glittering. "I've just been to your office, Lupin. You forgot to take your potion tonight, so I took a gobletful along. And very lucky I did… lucky for me, I mean. Lying on your desk was a certain map. I saw you running along this passageway and out of sight."

"Severus —" Lupin began, but Snape overrode him.

"I've told the headmaster again and again that you're helping Black into the castle, Lupin, and here's the proof. Not even I dreamed you would have the nerve to use this old place as your hideout —"

"Severus, you're making a mistake," said Lupin urgently. "You haven't heard everything — I can explain — Sirius is not here to kill Harry —"

"Right...just like he wasn't trying to kill my son."

"Our son! And I didn't -"

"Two more for Azkaban tonight," Snape interrupted, his eyes now gleaming fanatically. "I shall be interested to see how Dumbledore takes this… He was quite convinced you were harmless, you know, Lupin… a tame werewolf —"

"You fool," said Lupin softly. "Is a misunderstanding really worth putting your innocent husband back inside Azkaban?"

BANG! Thin, snakelike cords burst from the end of Snape's wand and twisted themselves around Lupin's mouth, wrists, and ankles; he overbalanced and fell to the floor, unable to move.

With a roar of rage, Black started toward Snape, but Snape pointed his wand straight between Black's eyes.

"Give me a reason," he whispered. "Give me a reason to do it, and I swear I will."

Black stopped dead.

Harry stood there, paralyzed, not knowing what to do or whom to believe. He glanced around at Ron and Hermione. Ron looked just as confused as He did, still fighting to keep hold on the struggling Scabbers. Hermione, however, took an uncertain step toward Snape and said, in a very breathless voice, "Professor Snape — it wouldn't hurt to hear what they've got to say, w-would it?"

"You have sixty seconds to tell me why you have escaped Azkaban and why you killed our son." Snape said coldly. A few sparks shot out of the end of his wand, which was still pointed at Black's face.

Black swallowed and took a deep breath, "Severus, I didn't betray Lily and James...I didn't kill Sammy! I brought Sammy over to the Potters because they wanted to go Muggle trick-or-treating with Harry and thought Sammy would have fun as well. Lily and James never had me as secret keeper, Peter was! He betrayed them, Sev. He betrayed them all..." Black now had tears running down his face. Harry wasn't sure who to believe anymore.

"When I made it to Godric's Hallow they were all dead, James, Lily, even baby Harry." Harry felt as if he was plunged into ice water. "Dumbledore was there and he took Sammy right out of my arms and placed the Imperio on me. He glamoured Sammy right in front of me so he'd look like Harry and Harry's little body was glamoured to look like Sammy." Black fell to his knees, the sobs wracking his body.

"To see Sammy looking so still...not breathing. It still haunts me...Dumbledore made me go after Peter in the streets...he made it look like I killed thirteen people including Pettigrew. I'm innocent...Sev, I'm innocent. I broke out of Azkaban because I knew Sammy was in Hogwarts...and so was Peter. I had to protect our son, Sev. Even if it's the last thing I do...I failed once. I'll not fail again. As long as this boy brings his rat up to the castle" — he jerked his head at Ron — "I'll come quietly…"

Snape's grip on his wand weakened and he too fell to his knees. "Siri, please tell me the truth...I can't take anymore lies."

Lupin was struggling against his bonds. Harry bent down quickly and untied him. Lupin straightened up, rubbing his arms where the ropes had cut into them.

"Thank you, Harry," he said. He then turned to the two who were kneeling on the floor. "Then it's time we offered you some proof, You, boy — give me Peter, please. Now."

Ron clutched Scabbers closer to his chest.

"Come off it," he said weakly. "Are you trying to say he broke out of Azkaban just to get his hands on Scabbers? I mean…" He looked up at Harry and Hermione for support, "Okay, say Pettigrew could turn into a rat — there are millions of rats — how's he supposed to know which one he is after if he was locked up in Azkaban?"

"You know, Sirius, that's a fair question," said Lupin, turning to Black and frowning slightly.

"How did you find out where he was?"

Black put one of his claw-like hands inside his robes and took out a crumpled piece of paper, which he smoothed flat and held out to show the others.

It was the photograph of Ron and his family that had appeared in the Daily Prophet the previous summer, and there, on Ron's shoulder, was Scabbers.

"How did you get this?" Snape asked Black, thunderstruck.

"Fudge," said Black. "When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me his paper. And there was Peter, on the front page on this boy's shoulder… I knew him at once… how many times had I seen him transform? And the caption said the boy would be going back to Hogwarts… to where Sammy-Harry was…"

"My God," said Lupin softly, staring from Scabbers to the picture in the paper and back again. "His front paw…"

"What about it?" said Ron defiantly.

"He's got a toe missing," said Black.

"Of course," Lupin breathed. "So simple… so brilliant… he cut it off himself?"

"Just before he transformed," said Black. "When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James. Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself — and sped down into the sewer with the other rats…"

"Didn't you ever hear, Ron?" said Lupin. "The biggest bit of Peter they found was his finger."

"Look, Scabbers probably had a fight with another rat or something! He's been in my family for ages, right —"

"Twelve years, in fact," said Snape, understanding in his eyes. "Didn't you ever wonder why he was living so long?"

"We — we've been taking good care of him!" said Ron.

"Not looking too good at the moment, though, is he?" said Lupin. "I'd guess he's been losing weight ever since he heard Sirius was on the loose again…"

"He's been scared of that mad cat!" said Ron, nodding toward Crookshanks, who was still purring on the bed.

But that wasn't right, Harry thought suddenly… Scabbers had been looking ill before he met Crookshanks… ever since Ron's return from Egypt… since the time when Black had escaped…

"This cat isn't mad," said Black hoarsely. He reached out a bony hand and stroked Crookshanks's fluffy head. "He's the most intelligent of his kind I've ever met. He recognized Peter for what he was right away. And when he met me, he knew I was no dog. It was a while before he trusted me… Finally, I managed to communicate to him what I was after, and he's been helping me…"

"What do you mean?" breathed Hermione.

"He tried to bring Peter to me, but couldn't… so he stole the passwords into Gryffindor Tower for me… As I understand it, he took them from a boy's bedside table…"

Harry's brain seemed to be sagging under the weight of what she was hearing. It was absurd… and yet…

"But Peter got wind of what was going on and ran for it." croaked Black. "This cat — Crookshanks, did you call him? — told me Peter had left blood on the sheets… I supposed he bit himself… Well, faking his own death had worked once."

These words jolted Harry to his senses. "You're telling the truth...I-I'm your son..."

Black nodded in relief. "You're our baby boy, our Samuel "Sammy" Aaron Snape." Harry slowly walked to where Black and Snape were kneeling and joined them. He hugged them tightly and tears began flowing from his face and his two parents hugged him back.

"There's one certain way to prove what really happened." Lupin said as he saw that Hermione and Ron still didn't believe. "Ron, give me that rat."

"What are you going to do with him if I give him to you?" Ron asked Lupin tensely.

"Force him to show himself," said Lupin. "If he really is a rat, it won't hurt him."

Ron hesitated. Then at long last, he held out Scabbers and Lupin took him. Scabbers began to squeak without stopping, twisting and turning, his tiny black eyes bulging in his head. "Ready, Sirius?" said Lupin.

Black had already retrieved Snape's wand from the man and stood up. He approached Lupin and the struggling rat, and his wet eyes suddenly seemed to be burning in his face.

"Together?" he said quietly.

"I think so", said Lupin, holding Scabbers tightly in one hand and his wand in the other. "On the count of three. One — two — THREE!"

A flash of blue-white light erupted from both wands; for a moment, Scabbers was frozen in midair, his small gray form twisting madly — Ron yelled — the rat fell and hit the floor. There was another blinding flash of light and then —

It was like watching a speeded-up film of a growing tree. A head was shooting upward from the ground; limbs were sprouting; a moment later, a man was standing where Scabbers had been, cringing and wringing his hands. Crookshanks was spitting and snarling on the bed; the hair on his back was standing up.

He was a very short man, hardly taller than Harry and Hermione. His thin, colorless hair was unkempt and there was a large bald patch on top. He had the shrunken appearance of a plump man who has lost a lot of weight in a short time. His skin looked grubby, almost like Scabbers' fur, and something of the rat lingered around his pointed nose and his very small, watery eyes. He looked around at them all, his breathing fast and shallow. Harry saw his eyes dart to the door and back again.

"Well, hello, Peter," said Lupin pleasantly, as though rats frequently erupted into old school friends around him.

"Long time, no see."

"S—Sirius… R—Remus…S-Severus... " Even Pettigrew's voice was squeaky. Again, his eyes darted toward the door. "My friends… my old friends…"

Black's wand arm rose, but Lupin seized him around the wrist, gave him a warning took, then turned again to Pettigrew, his voice light and casual.

"We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily, James, and Harry died. You might have missed the finer points while you were squeaking around down there on the bed —"

"Remus," gasped Pettigrew, and Harry could see beads of sweat breaking out over his pasty face, "you don't believe him, do you…? He tried to kill me, Remus…"

"So we've heard," said Lupin, more coldly. "I'd like to clear up one or two little matters with you, Peter, if you'll be so —"

"He's come to try and kill me again!" Pettigrew squeaked suddenly, pointing at Black, and Harry saw that he used his middle finger, because his index was missing. "He killed Lily, James, and Harry... and now he's going to kill me too… You've got to help me, Remus…"

Black's face looked more skull-like than ever as he stared at Pettigrew with his fathomless eyes.

"No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out," said Lupin.

"Sorted things out?" squealed Pettigrew, looking wildly about him once more, eyes taking in the boarded windows and, again, the only door. "I knew he'd come after me! I knew he'd be back for me! I've been waiting for this for twelve years!"

"You knew Sirius was going to break out of Azkaban?" said Lupin, his brow furrowed. "When nobody has ever done it before?"

"He's got dark powers the rest of us can only dream of!" Pettigrew shouted shrilly. "How else did he get out of there? I suppose He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named taught him a few tricks!"

Black started to laugh, a horrible, mirthless laugh that filled the whole room. "Voldemort, teach me tricks?" he said.

Pettigrew flinched as though Black had brandished a whip at him.

"What, scared to hear your old master's name?" said Black. "I don't blame you, Peter. His lot aren't very happy with you, are they?"

"Don't know what you mean, Sirius —" muttered Pettigrew, his breathing faster than ever. His whole face was shining with sweat now.

"You haven't been hiding from me for twelve years," said Black. "You've been hiding from Voldemort's old supporters. I heard things in Azkaban, Peter… They all think you're dead, or you'd have to answer to them… I've heard them screaming all sorts of things in their sleep. Sounds like they think the double-crosser double-crossed them. Voldemort went to the Potters' on your information… and Voldemort met his downfall there. And not all Voldemort's supporters ended up in Azkaban, did they? There are still plenty out here, biding their time, pretending they've seen the error of their ways. If they ever got wind that you were still alive, Peter —"

"Don't know… what you're talking about…" said Pettigrew again, more shrilly than ever. He wiped his face on his sleeve and looked up at Lupin. "You don't believe this — this madness, Remus, Severus —"

"I must admit, Peter, I have difficulty in understanding why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat," said Snape evenly one of his arms still around Harry, keeping him there.

"Innocent, but scared!" squealed Pettigrew. "If Voldemort's supporters were after me, it was because I put one of their best men in Azkaban — the spy, Sirius Black!"

Black's face contorted.

"How dare you," he growled, sounding suddenly like the bear sized dog he had been. "I, a spy for Voldemort? When did I ever sneak around people who were stronger and more powerful than myself? But you, Peter — I'll never understand why I didn't see you were the spy from the start. You always liked big friends who'd look after you, didn't you? It used to be us… me, Severus, Remus… and James…"

Pettigrew wiped his face again; he was almost panting for breath.

"Me, a spy… must be out of your mind… never… don't know how you can say such a —"

"Lily and James only made you Secret-Keeper because I suggested it," Black hissed, so venomously that Pettigrew took a step backward. "I thought it was the perfect plan… a bluff… Voldemort would be sure to come after me, would never dream they'd use a weak, talentless thing like you… It must have been the finest moment of your miserable life, telling Voldemort you could hand him the Potters little did you know that my son was there."

Pettigrew was muttering distractedly; Harry caught words like "far-fetched" and "lunacy," but he couldn't help paying more attention to the ashen color of Pettigrew's face and the way his eyes continued to dart toward the windows and door.

"Professor Lupin?" said Hermione timidly. "Can — can I say something?"

"Certainly, Hermione," said Lupin courteously.

"Well — Scabbers — I mean, this — this man — he's been sleeping in Harry's dormitory for three years. If he's working for You-Know-Who, how come he never tried to hurt him before now?"

"There!" said Pettigrew shrilly, pointing at Ron with his maimed hand. "Thank you! You see, Remus? I have never hurt a hair of Samuel's head! Why should I?"

"I'll tell you why," said Black. "Because you never did anything for anyone unless you could see what was in it for you. Voldemort's been in hiding for twelve years, they say he's half dead. You weren't about to commit murder right under Albus Dumbledore's nose, for a wreck of a wizard who'd lost all of his power, were you? You'd want to be quite sure he was the biggest bully in the playground before you went back to him, wouldn't you? Why else did you find a wizard family to take you in? Keeping an ear out for news, weren't you, Peter? Just in case your old protector regained strength, and it was safe to rejoin him…"

Pettigrew opened his mouth and closed it several times. He seemed to have lost the ability to talk.

"Er — Mr. Black — Sirius?" said Hermione.

Black jumped at being addressed like this and stared at Hermione as though he had never seen anything quite like her.

"If you don't mind me asking, how — how did you get out of Azkaban, if you didn't use Dark Magic?"

"Thank you!" gasped Pettigrew, nodding frantically at her. "Exactly! Precisely what I —"

But Lupin silenced him with a look. Black was frowning slightly at Hermione, but not as though he were annoyed with her. He seemed to be pondering his answer.

"I don't know how I did it," he said slowly. "I think the only reason I never lost my mind is that I knew I was innocent. That wasn't a happy thought, so the Dementors couldn't suck it out of me… but it kept me sane and knowing who I am… helped me keep my powers… so when it all became… too much… when all I could remember was the way Harry looked as Sammy... I could transform in my cell… become a dog. Dementors can't see, you know…" He swallowed. "They feel their way toward people by feeding off their emotions… They could tell that my feelings were less — less human, less complex when I was a dog… but they thought, of course, that I was losing my mind like everyone else in there, so it didn't trouble them. But I was weak, very weak, and I had no hope of driving them away from me without a wand…

"But then I saw Peter in that picture… I realized he was at Hogwarts with Sammy… perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached his ears that the Dark Side was gathering strength again…"

Pettigrew was shaking his head, mouthing noiselessly, but staring all the while at Black as though hypnotized.

"… ready to strike at the moment he could be sure of allies… and to deliver what he thought was the last Potter to them. If he gave them Sammy, who'd dare say he'd betrayed Lord Voldemort? He'd be welcomed back with honors…

"So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive…"

Harry remembered what Mr. Weasley had told Mrs. Weasley. "The guards say he's been talking in his sleep… always the same words… 'at Hogwarts.'"

"It was as if someone had lit a fire In my head, and the Dementors couldn't destroy it… It wasn't a happy feeling… it was an obsession… but it gave me strength, it cleared my mind. So, one night when they opened my door to bring food, I slipped past them as a dog… It's so much harder for them to sense animal emotions that they were confused… I was thin, very thin… thin enough to slip through the bars… I swam as a dog back to the mainland… I journeyed north and slipped into the Hogwarts grounds as a dog. I've been living in the forest ever since, except when I came to watch the Quidditch, of course. You fly as well as Severus did, Sammy…"

He looked at Harry, who did not look away.

"Believe me," croaked Black. "Believe me, Sammy. I never betrayed the Potters. I would have died before I betrayed them."

Throat too tight to speak, he nodded.

Pettigrew had fallen to his knees as though Harry's nod had been his own death sentence. He shuffled forward on his knees, groveling, his hands clasped in front of him as though praying.

"Sirius — it's me… it's Peter… your friend… you wouldn't —"

Black kicked out and Pettigrew recoiled.

"There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them," said Black.

"Remus!" Pettigrew squeaked, turning to Lupin instead, writhing imploringly in front of him. "You don't believe this — wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?"

"Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter," said Lupin. "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?" he said casually over Pettigrew's head.

"Forgive me, Remus," said Black.

"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," said Lupin, who was now rolling up his sleeves. "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing you were the spy?"

"Of course," said Black, and the ghost of a grin flitted across his gaunt face. He, too, began rolling up his sleeves. "Shall we kill him together?"

"Yes, I think so," said Lupin grimly.

"You wouldn't… you won't…" gasped Pettigrew. And he scrambled around to Ron. He didn't even bother with Severus, he knew that he'd agree with Sirius.

"Ron… haven't I been a good friend… a good pet? You won't let them kill me, Ron, will you… you're on my side, aren't you?"

But Ron was staring at Pettigrew with the utmost revulsion.

"I let you sleep in my bed!" he said.

"Kind boy… kind master…" Pettigrew crawled toward Ron "You won't let them do it… I was your rat… I was a good pet…"

"If you made a better rat than a human, it's not much to boast about, Peter," said Black harshly.

Ron, going still paler with pain, wrenched his broken leg out of Pettigrew's reach. Pettigrew turned on his knees, staggered forward, and seized the hem of Hermione's robes.

"Sweet girl… clever girl… you — you won't let them… Help me…"

Hermione pulled her robes out of Pettigrew's clutching hands and backed away against the wall, looking horrified.

Pettigrew knelt, trembling uncontrollably, and turned his head slowly toward Harry.

"Sammy… Sammy… you look just like your father… just like him…"

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO SAMMY?" roared Black. "HOW DARE YOU FACE HIM HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT SEVERUS IN FRONT OF HIM?"

"Sammy," whispered Pettigrew, shuffling toward her, hands outstretched. "Sammy, James wouldn't have wanted me killed… James would have understood, Sammy… he would have shown me mercy…"

Both Black and Lupin strode forward, seized Pettigrew's shoulders, and threw him backward onto the floor. He sat there, twitching with terror, staring up at them.

"You sold Lily, James, and Harry to Voldemort," said Black, who was shaking too. "Do you deny it?"

Pettigrew burst into tears. It was horrible to watch, like an oversized, balding baby, cowering on the floor.

"Sirius, Sirius, what could I have done? The Dark Lord… you have no idea… he has weapons you can't imagine… I was scared, Sirius, I was never brave like you and Remus and James. I never meant it to happen… He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named forced me —"

"DON'T LIE!" bellowed Black. "YOU'D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE THE POTTERS DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY!"

"He — he was taking over everywhere!" gasped Pettigrew. "Wh-what was there to be gained by refusing him?"

"What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who has ever existed?" said Black, with a terrible fury in his face. "Only innocent lives, Peter!"

"You don't understand!" whined Pettigrew. "He would have killed me, Sirius!"

"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" roared Black. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!"

Black and Lupin stood shoulder to shoulder, wands raised.

"You should have realized," said Lupin quietly, "if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Good-bye, Peter."

Hermione covered her face with her hands and turned to the wall.

"NO!" Sammy yelled.

He ran forward, placing himself in front Pettigrew, facing the wands, Snape had tried to hold him back. "You can't kill him," he said breathlessly. "You can't."

Black and Lupin both looked staggered.

"Sammy, this piece of vermin is the reason you had no parents for twelve years," Black snarled. "This cringing bit of filth would have seen you die too, without turning a hair. You heard him. His own stinking skin meant more to him than anyone."

"I know," Samuel panted. "We'll take him up to the castle. We'll hand him over to the Dementors… He can go to Azkaban… but don't kill him."

"Sammy!" gasped Pettigrew, and he flung his arms around Sammy's knees. "You — thank you — it's more than I deserve — thank you —"

"Get off me," Samuel spat, throwing Pettigrew's hands off him in disgust, Severus got behind his son and glared at the rat. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it because — I don't reckon Uncle James would've wanted them to become killers — just for you."

No one moved or made a sound except Pettigrew, whose breath was coming in wheezes as he clutched his chest. Black, Lupin, and Snape were looking at each other. Then, with one movement, the two lowered their wands.

"You're the only person who has the right to decide, Sammy," said Black. "But think… think what he did…"

"He can go to Azkaban," Samuel repeated. "If anyone deserves that place, he does…"

Pettigrew was still wheezing behind him.

"Very well," said Lupin. "Stand aside, Sammy."

He hesitated.

"I'm going to tie him up," said Lupin. "That's all, I swear."

Samuel stepped out of the way. Thin cords shot from Lupin's wand this time, and next moment, Pettigrew was wriggling on the floor, bound and gagged.

"But if you transform, Peter," growled Black, his own wand pointing at Pettigrew too, "we will kill you. You agree, Sammy?"

Samuel looked down at the pitiful figure on the floor and nodded so that Pettigrew could see him.

"Right," said Lupin, suddenly businesslike. "Ron, I can't mend bones nearly as well as Madam Pomfrey-"

"But I can." Snape interrupted. "Siri, I need you and Sammy to take Peter up to the school. Bring Miss. Granger with you. It's a full moon tonight so I will bring Mr. Weasley back up to the school after Remus drinks this." He handed the steaming goblet to Remus who quickly drank it down.

Snape then hurried over to Ron, bent down, tapped Ron's leg with his wand, and muttered, "Ferula." Bandages spun up Ron's leg, strapping it tightly to a splint.

Lupin helped him to his feet; Ron put his weight gingerly on the leg and didn't wince.

"That's better," he said. "Thanks."

Black conjured heavy manacles from thin air; soon Pettigrew was upright again, left arm chained to Black's right, right arm to Sammy's left. Ron's face was set. He seemed to have taken Scabbers' true identity as a personal insult. Crookshanks leapt lightly off the bed and led the way out of the room, his bottlebrush tail held jauntily high.

When the group made it back to the castle they headed straight for the dungeons. They chained Peter to the wall and cast a spell that would make him unable to transform while Snape flooed the ministry and healed Ron's leg.

"I'm real sorry about that by the way. I was aiming for the rat." Black said softly.

"It's alright. I think I'd done the same if anyone ever screwed with my family that way." Ron admitted with a shrug.

"So what should we call you now? Harry or Sammy?" Hermione asked with a grin.

"I think I'll go by who I really am. Harry James Potter died that night in Godric's Hallow. Samuel Aaron Snape did not." Sirius and Severus couldn't help but beam at that.

Everything went by so quickly after that. Dumbledore was placed under arrest for what part he had in the incident and Sirius was freed. The whole story was announced and Harry Potter was proclaimed dead and Samuel Snape was said to be living with his family, who was now trying to work on their relationship.

"Papa, Dad's trying his best...he's lived so long without anyone that he's not sure what to do with himself." Sammy said to Sirius.

Sirius pulled the thirteen year old to his chest with a sigh. "I understand, I truly do. I just wish we could understand what would have happened if I never told you the truth. Maybe you'd both be better off."

"I highly doubt that." A strangely familiar voice said. An older looking Ron Weasley stood before them. "Here are four books. All of them are what would have happened if Snape and Sammy never found out the truth." He looked at Sammy sadly, "You should probably read these with my younger self as well. He'll probably have something to tell you."

Sammy nodded as the older Ron disappeared. "I'll go get Ron if you get Dad."

Sirius smiled softly, "Deal."


	2. Chapter 2-The Scar

**Here's chapter two! Enjoy!**

* * *

When Harry made it up to the Gryffindor tower Ron was sitting alone in the common room. "Hey Ron..."

"Hey Sammy...can I-? Can I tell you something?"

Sammy frowned and sat down next to his best friend, "You can tell me anything, Ron."

"Well, first off...I've done a lot of thinking about myself...I'm gay, Sammy."

"That's no big deal. Dad and Papa are gay...and so am I. So if you thought I'd stop being your friend over-"

"That's not all." Ron interrupted. "I-I like you a lot more than I should, Sammy. Whether your Sammy or Harry..."

Sammy stopped his rambling by kissing the redhead softly. He grinned when he sat back. "I like you a lot more than I should as well, Ron."

Ron grinned, his confidence back, "Then would you accompany me on a date next weekend?"

Sammy chuckled, "Of course Ron. But we just received four books from your future self. They're about if Papa never told Dad and I the truth. we thought you should join us."

"What about Hermione?" Ron asked his eyebrows raised.

Sammy shrugged, "She's with her parents in America for vacation. We can summarize and send her a letter later." he took Ron's hand in his own and entwined their fingers. "So are you coming?"

"Of course." Ron said kissing Sammy's temple lovingly as they both headed down to the dungeons together.

~oOo~

"Ronald Weasley is going to be the death of me." Severus said as Sirius leaned against the doorframe.

"Why is that?" the ex-convict asked with raised eyebrows.

Severus sighed, "Because of the way he looks at our son. They love each other, they just won't admit it."

"They're what? Thirteen? Fourteen years old? How could they possibly know what love is?"

Severus raised an eyebrow at his husband, "And how old were we when we started to date?"

Sirius grumbled, "Fair point. Anyway, we just received four books from the future Ron Weasley. They are going to tell us what the future would have looked like if I hadn't told you all the truth about what happened."

Severus sighed, "Is this about me ignoring you?" he asked when he saw Sirius' sad eyes. When Sirius didn't respond Severus had his answer. "Siri, I love you more than life itself...but I thought you killed our son...I thought our son was dead...why didn't you tell me? You could have sent letters from Azkaban!"

Sirius looked confused, "I did send you letters...one every week. We were only allowed to write one person every week and I chose you every time. I begged, pleaded even for you to believe me when I told you Sammy was alive. I just thought you had found someone else and was happy wherever you were."

Severus looked shocked, "I never received any letters...oh that man! Dumbledore must have kept them from me. I'm so sorry Siri." he said softly.

Sirius took the man in his arms, "Shhh, it's alright Sev. We're both here now and we're not going anywhere. I love you so much, Sev."

"I love you too, Siri." And they shared a passionate kiss.

"Ahh!" A yell came from the doorway. "That was definitely more than I wanted to see!" Sammy exclaimed while Ron chuckled next to him.

"Get used to it, Sammy." Sirius said with a grin. "How do you think you came around?"

Severus smacked his husband upside the head as Sammy paled. "Oh sweet Merlin, I did _not_ want to hear that." the thirteen year old exclaimed as he drug Ron into the living room, still holding the red-heads hand.

Severus and Sirius raised their eyebrows as the two friends sat next to each other, closer than what the parents thought should be allowed. "Who's going to read first?" Sammy asked.

Severus took the first book from the table,** "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"**

Severus and Sirius paled, "Sweet Merlin." Sirius muttered as Severus opened the book.

Severus flipped to the first page and began to read,** "****The Scar.****"**

They all looked at each other, what did Sammy's scar have to do with anything?

**Harry lay flat on his back, breathing hard as though he had been running. He had awoken from a vivid dream with his hands pressed over his face. The old scar on his forehead, which was shaped like a bolt of lightning, was burning beneath his fingers as though someone had just pressed a white-hot wire to his skin.**

Severus glanced at his son who seemed perfectly content next to the red-head. Severus glared at the boy for a moment before going back to reading.

Sammy looked amused as Ron grimaced. He knew his parents were going to be hard on Ron, but it was only because they had just found each other...now he was dating.

**He sat up, one hand still on his scar, the other hand reaching out in the darkness for his glasses, which were on the bedside table. He put them on and his bedroom came into clearer focus, lit by a faint, misty orange light that was filtering through the curtains from the street lamp outside the window.**

**Harry ran his fingers over the scar again. It was still painful. He turned on the lamp beside him, scrambled out of bed, crossed the room, opened his wardrobe, and peered into the mirror on the inside of the door. A skinny boy of fourteen looked back at him, his bright green eyes puzzled under his untidy black hair. **

**He examined the lightning-bolt scar of his reflection more closely. It looked normal, but it was still stinging.**

Ron seemed concerned. Sammy had never said anything about his scar stinging.

**Harry tried to recall what he had been dreaming about before he had awoken. It had seemed so real… There had been two people he knew and one he didn't… **

**He concentrated hard, frowning, trying to remember… The dim picture of a darkened room came to him… There had been a snake on a hearth rug… a small man called Peter, nicknamed Wormtail…**

The Snape family glared at the book, Ron did as well though it looked out of place. The Snape family could be frightening if they wanted to be.

** and a cold, high voice… the voice of Lord Voldemort. Harry felt as though an ice cube had slipped down into his stomach at the very thought...**

Sammy shuddered and Ron put his arm around his shoulder in a comforting motion. Sirius and Severus glanced at each other before Severus continued to read.

**He closed his eyes tightly and tried to remember what Voldemort had looked like, but it was impossible… All Harry knew was that at the moment when Voldemort's chair had swung around, and he, Harry, had seen what was sitting in it, he had felt a spasm of horror, which had awoken him… or had that been the pain in his scar?**

"It was most likely both." Sirius said with a frown on his face.

**And who had the old man been? For there had definitely been an old man; Harry had watched him fall to the ground. **

Sammy glanced at his fathers, "He killed him didn't he?"

Severus grimaced but nodded, that sounded like Voldemort alright. Killing unsuspecting innocents.

**It was all becoming confused. Harry put his face into his hands, blocking out his bedroom, trying to hold on to the picture of that dimly lit room, but it was like trying to keep water in his cupped hands; the details were now trickling away as fast as he tried to hold on to them… **

**Voldemort and Wormtail had been talking about someone they had killed, though Harry could not remember the name… and they had been plotting to kill someone else… him!**

Severus and Sirius froze at those words, Ron did as well but it was not as noticable. They had just got their baby boy back and in a couple of months this would be happening...why did Voldemort want _their_ son?

**Harry took his face out of his hands, opened his eyes, and stared around his bedroom as though expecting to see something unusual there. As it happened, there was an extraordinary number of unusual things in this room. A large wooden trunk stood open at the foot of his bed, revealing a cauldron, broomstick, black robes, and assorted spell books. **

Sammy looked surprised, the Dursley's had actually allowed his school things in his room? When did that happen?

**Rolls of parchment littered that part of his desk that was not taken up by the large, empty cage in which his snowy owl, Hedwig, usually perched. On the floor beside his bed a book lay open; Harry had been reading it before he fell asleep last night. **

**The pictures in this book were all moving. Men in bright orange robes were zooming in and out of sight on broomsticks, throwing a red ball to one another.**

Sirius groaned, "Please tell me you're not a Cannons fan?"

Sammy looked sheepish, "Blame it on him! He got me to like them!"

Ron blushed a Weasley red, "Don't blame it on me! Dad liked them first, he brought me to my first Quiddatch game."

**Harry walked over to the book, picked it up, and watched one of the wizards score a spectacular goal by putting the ball through a fifty-foot-high hoop. Then he snapped the book shut. Even Quidditch — in Harry's opinion, the best sport in the world — couldn't distract him at the moment. He placed Flying with the Cannons on his bedside table, crossed to the window, and drew back the curtains to survey the street below.**

**Privet Drive looked exactly as a respectable suburban street would be expected to look in the early hours of Saturday morning. All the curtains were closed. As far as Harry could see through the darkness, there wasn't a living creature in sight, not even a cat.**

"As far as you can see." Severus sneered, "Knowing the old coot, he would have had guards surrounding you, keeping you from the truth."

**And yet… and yet… Harry went restlessly back to the bed and sat down on it, running a finger over his scar again. It wasn't the pain that bothered him; Harry was no stranger to pain and injury. **

"With the amount of time you spend in the infirmary, I can see that." Severus said glaring at his son.

Sammy smiled sheepishly, "Sorry?"

**He had lost all the bones from his right arm once and had them painfully re-grown in a night.**

Sirius looked alarmed, "When did this happen?"

The other three winced, "Lockheart."

"The nitwit Hufflepuff?" Sirius asked, "What does he have to do with anything?"

Severus groaned, "He was DADA professor in Sammy's second year. Sammy got hit by a bludger and Lockheart thought he could heal it."

"He just took out all the bones instead." Sammy finished.

**The same arm had been pierced by a venomous foot-long fang not long afterward. **

This time all three of them turned to Sammy. "When did this happen?!" Ron exclaimed, "You never mentioned _that_!"

Sammy blushed, "Well...erm...you see...I didn't want to worry anyone."

"How are you still alive?" Severus asked softly.

Sammy shrugged, "Faux."

"What does he have to do with anything?" Sirius asked, he was nearing hysterics.

"Phoenix tears have healing properties." Severus explained. "We're going to discuss your...stunts...later." he said to Sammy who looked down.

**Only last year Harry had fallen fifty feet from an airborne broomstick. **

Now it was Sirius' turn to look sheepish as Severus glared at him.

**He was used to bizarre accidents and injuries; they were unavoidable if you attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and had a knack for attracting a lot of trouble.**

"That's true." Ron muttered.

**No, the thing that was bothering Harry was the last time his scar had hurt him, it had been because Voldemort had been close by… But Voldemort couldn't be here, now… The idea of Voldemort lurking in Privet Drive was absurd, impossible…**

**Harry listened closely to the silence around him. Was he half expecting to hear the creak of a stair or the swish of a cloak? And then he jumped slightly as he heard his cousin Dudley give a tremendous grunting snore from the next room.**

**Harry shook himself mentally; he was being stupid. There was no one in the house with him except Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley, and they were plainly still asleep, their dreams untroubled and painless.**

**Asleep was the way Harry liked the Dursleys best; it wasn't as though they were ever any help to him awake. Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley were Harry's only living relatives.**

"That's not true." Sirius said with a sad smile.

Sammy suddenly frowned, "So there was _nothing_ at Private Drive keeping me safe. They weren't my family so the blood wards wouldn't work...besides, Lily Potter wasn't my mother."

Severus frowned, "Then it's a good thing that you're never going back."

**They were Muggles who hated and despised magic in any form, which meant that Harry was about as welcome in their house as dry rot. **

**They had explained away Harry's long absences at Hogwarts over the last three years by telling everyone that he went to St. Brutus's Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys. **

"WHAT?!" Sirius, Severus, and Ron exclaimed.

Sammy just shrugged, "It's not like it matters."

**They knew perfectly well that, as an underage wizard, Harry wasn't allowed to use magic outside Hogwarts, but they were still apt to blame him for anything that went wrong about the house. **

**Harry had never been able to confide in them or tell them anything about his life in the wizarding world. The very idea of going to them when they awoke, and telling them about his scar hurting him, and about his worries about Voldemort, was laughable.**

**And yet it was because of Voldemort that Harry had come to live with the Dursleys in the first place. **

Severus frowned, "That's not necessarily true...it's really Dumbledore's fault."

**If it hadn't been for Voldemort, Harry would not have had the lightning scar on his forehead. If it hadn't been for Voldemort, Harry would still have had parents…**

**Harry had been a year old the night that Voldemort — the most powerful Dark wizard for a century, a wizard who had been gaining power steadily for eleven years — arrived at his house and killed his father and mother. **

No one knew what to say. None of this was true. It was true that Lily and James died...but little Harry went with them...at least he didn't suffer.

**Voldemort had then turned his wand on Harry; he had performed the curse that had disposed of many full-grown witches and wizards in his steady rise to power — and, incredibly, it had not worked. Instead of killing the small boy, the curse had rebounded upon Voldemort. **

"That part is true though." Sirius said with a sad sigh.

**Harry had survived with nothing but a lightning-shaped cut on his forehead, and Voldemort had been reduced to something barely alive. His powers gone, his life almost extinguished, Voldemort had fled; the terror in which the secret community of witches and wizards had lived for so long had lifted, Voldemort's followers had disbanded, and Harry Potter had become famous.**

Ron smirked, "Now Samuel Aaron Snape is famous."

Sammy scowled and elbowed Ron in the ribs, much to his parents amusement.

**It had been enough of a shock for Harry to discover, on his eleventh birthday, that he was a wizard; it had been even more disconcerting to find out that everyone in the hidden wizarding world knew his name. **

**Harry had arrived at Hogwarts to find that heads turned and whispers followed him wherever he went. But he was used to it now: At the end of this summer, he would be starting his fourth year at Hogwarts, and Harry was already counting the days until he would be back at the castle again.**

"I did that." Sirius and Severus said together. They then smiled at each other when they realized they had said the same thing.

**But there was still a fortnight to go before he went back to school. He looked hopelessly around his room again, and his eye paused on the birthday cards his two best friends had sent him at the end of July. **

**What would they say if Harry wrote to them and told them about his scar hurting?**

**At once, Hermione Granger's voice seemed to fill his head, shrill and panicky.**

_**"Your scar hurt? Harry, that's really serious… Write to Professor Dumbledore! And I'll go and check Common Magical Ailments and Afflictions… Maybe there's something in there about curse scars…"**_

Ron chuckled, "That sounds exactly like Hermione."

**Yes that would be Hermione's advice: Go straight to the headmaster of Hogwarts, and in the meantime, consult a book. **

Sirius chuckled as Severus looked amused.

**Harry stared out of the window at the inky blue-black sky. He doubted very much whether a book could help him now. As far as he knew, he was the only living person to have survived a curse like Voldemort's; it was highly unlikely, therefore, that he would find his symptoms listed in Common Magical Ailments and Afflictions. **

**As for informing the headmaster, Harry had no idea where Dumbledore went during the summer holidays. He amused himself for a moment, picturing Dumbledore, with his long silver beard, full length wizard's robes, and pointed hat, stretched out on a beach somewhere, rubbing suntan lotion… onto his long crooked nose. **

Ron and Sirius couldn't help but laugh as Severus raised an eyebrow. "The old coot never left the protection of the castle."

**Wherever Dumbledore was, though, Harry was sure that Hedwig would be able to find him; Harry's owl had never yet failed to deliver a letter to anyone, even without an address. But what would he write?**

_**Dear Professor Dumbledore,**_

_**Sorry to bother you, but my scar hurt this morning.**_

_**Yours sincerely,**_

_**Harry Potter.**_

**Even inside his head the words sounded stupid.**

Ron nodded with an amused smile, "I think you would've worded it better though."

**And so he tried to imagine his other best friend, Ron Weasley's, reaction, and in a moment, Ron's red hair and long-nosed, freckled face seemed to swim before Harry, wearing a bemused expression.**

_**"Your scar hurt? But… but You-Know-Who can't be near you now, can he? I mean… you'd know, wouldn't you? He'd be trying to do you in again, wouldn't be? I dunno, Harry, maybe curse scars always twinge a bit… I'll ask Dad…"**_

Ron was beat red as Sirius chuckled.

**Mr. Weasley was a fully qualified wizard who worked in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry of Magic, but he didn't have any particular expertise in the matter of curses, as far as Harry knew. **

**In any case, Harry didn't like the idea of the whole Weasley family knowing that he, Harry, was getting jumpy about a few moments' pain. Mrs. Weasley would fuss worse than Hermione, and Fred and George, Ron's sixteen- year-old twin brothers, might think Harry was losing his nerve. **

Ron frowned, "I don't think so. They'd be worried, for certain...but they see you as family, Sammy." Severus and Sirius were instantly glad that Sammy had had the Weasley family when he went through everything he went through.

**The Weasleys were Harry's favorite family in the world; he was hoping that they might invite him to stay any time now (Ron had mentioned something about the Quidditch World Cup), and he somehow didn't want his visit punctuated with anxious inquiries about his scar.**

**Harry kneaded his forehead with his knuckles. What he really wanted (and it felt almost shameful to admit it to himself) was someone like - someone like a parent:** **an adult wizard whose advice he could ask without feeling stupid, someone who cared about him, who had had experience with Dark Magic…And then the solution came to him. It was so simple, and so obvious, that he couldn't believe it had taken so long – **_**Sirius.**_

Sirius smiled sadly, "Technically I am one of your parents." Severus frowned as Sirius continued. "And it's nothing to be ashamed of...everyone needs a parental figure in their lives."

Sammy smiled, "And now I have both of my parents." Sammy left Ron's side to sit in between his parents. He felt safe there, and he wouldn't trade them for anything in the world. He leaned his head on Severus' shoulder and sighed in content as Sirius rubbed calming circles on his hand.

Ron understood completely and smiled at his best mate, he deserved to be happy.

**Harry leapt up from the bed, hurried across the room, and sat down at his desk; he pulled a piece of parchment toward him, loaded his eagle-feather quill with ink, wrote Dear Sirius, then paused, wondering how best to phrase his problem, still marveling at the fact that he hadn't thought of Sirius straight away. **

**But then, perhaps it wasn't so surprising - after all, he had only found out that Sirius was his godfather two months ago.**

"Actually, James was your godfather." Severus said softly. "They wouldn't let Remus be godfather because of his...condition...but he is you _unofficial_ godfather."

**There was a simple reason for Sirius's complete absence from Harry's life until then - Sirius had been in Azkaban, the terrifying wizard jail guarded by creatures called Dementors,** **sightless, soul-sucking fiends who had come to search for Sirius at Hogwarts when he had escaped. **

**Yet Sirius had been innocent - the murders for which he had been convicted had been committed by Wormtail, Voldemort's supporter, whom nearly everybody now believed dead.**

"It was even worse because everyone believed I had brought my own son to his death." Sirius said sadly, the image of Harry glamoured as Sammy running through his mind, he shivered.

Sammy frowned and leaned his head on Sirius' chest, breathing in his comforting scent. Sirius buried his face in his son's hair and wrapped his arms around the boy, holding onto him as if his life depended on it.

Severus watched the two sadly and then he continued to read.

**Harry, Ron, and Hermione knew otherwise, however; they had come face-to-face with Wormtail only the previous year, though only Professor Dumbledore had believed their story.**

**For one glorious hour, Harry had believed that he was leaving the Dursleys at last, because Sirius had offered him a home once his name had been cleared. **

"What I don't understand is why I didn't tell either of you the truth!" Sirius said still clinging to his son.

**But the chance had been snatched away from him - Wormtail had escaped before they could take him to the Ministry of Magic,**

Everyone in the room froze, "Must be karma." Sirius mumbled. "I didn't tell you so fates coming back to bite me in the arse."

** and Sirius had had to flee for his life. Harry had helped him escape on the back of a hippogriff called Buckbeak, and since then, Sirius had been on the run. **

**The home Harry might have had if Wormtail had not escaped had been haunting him all summer. It had been doubly hard to return to the Dursleys knowing that he had so nearly escaped them forever.**

**Nevertheless, Sirius had been of some help to Harry, even if he couldn't be with him. **

**It was due to Sirius that Harry now had all his school things in his bedroom with him.**

Sammy raised an eyebrow.

**The Dursleys had never allowed this before; their general wish of keeping Harry as miserable as possible, coupled with their fear of his powers, had led them to lock his school trunk in the cupboard under the stairs every summer prior to this. **

Severus raised an eyebrow, "Is this why all of your homework was abysmal while you're school work rivaled Miss. Grangers?" Sammy blushed but nodded as Ron gaped, he had no idea Sammy actually did well in classes.

"So you take after Severus do you? I was bloody horrible in school. The only thing I was good in was Transfiguration...other than that I skived." Sirius admitted with a shrug.

**But their attitude had changed since they had found out that Harry had a dangerous murderer for a godfather - for Harry had conveniently forgotten to tell them that Sirius was innocent.**

Sirius laughed a full bellied laugh as Severus raised an eyebrow at his husband, "That's _all _you, Siri." Sammy smiled, he was glad to have something in common with his Dads.

**Harry had received two letters from Sirius since he had been back at Privet Drive. Both had been delivered, not by owls (as was usual with wizards), but by large, brightly colored tropical birds. **

"Of course." Severus said rolling his eyes.

**Hedwig had not approved of these flashy intruders; she had been most reluctant to allow them to drink from her water tray before flying off again. **

"Your owl has an attitude, Sammy." Ron said. "Gotta love Hedwig."

**Harry, on the other hand, had liked them; they put him in mind of palm trees and white sand, and he hoped that, wherever Sirius was (Sirius never said, in case the letters were intercepted), he was enjoying himself. **

"Most likely." Severus said. "Your Papa always had a way of making the best out of a bad situation."

**Somehow, Harry found it hard to imaging Dementors surviving for long in bright sunlight, perhaps that was why Sirius had gone South. Sirius's letters, which were now hidden beneath the highly useful loose floorboards under Harry's bed, sounded cheerful, and in both of them he had reminded Harry to call on him if ever Harry needed to. Well, he needed to right now, all right…**

**Harry's lamp seemed to grow dimmer as the cold grey light that precedes sunrise slowly crept into the room. **

**Finally, when the sun had risen, when his bedroom walls had turned gold, and when sounds of movement could be heard from Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia's room, Harry cleared his desk of crumpled pieces of parchment and reread his finished letter.**

_**Dear Sirius,**_

_**Thanks for your last letter. That bird was enormous; it could hardly get through my window. Things are the same as usual here. Dudley's diet isn't going too well. **_

_**My aunt found him smuggling doughnuts into his room yesterday. They told him they'd have to cut his pocket money if he keeps doing it, so he got really angry and chucked his PlayStation out of the window. **_

They all raised their eyebrows at the muggle objects, Sammy just mumbled a 'later' and Severus continued to read.

_**That's a sort of computer thing you can play games on. Bit stupid really, now he hasn't even got Mega-Mutilation Part Three to take his mind off things.**_

_**I'm okay, mainly because the Dursleys are terrified you might turn up and turn them all into bats if I ask you to.**_

_**A weird thing happened this morning, though. My scar hurt again. Last time that happened it was because Voldemort was at Hogwarts. But I don't reckon he can be anywhere near me now, can he? Do you know if curse scars sometimes hurt years afterward?**_

_**I'll send this with Hedwig when she gets back; she's off hunting at the moment. Say hello to Buckbeak for me.**_

_**Harry**_

**Yes, thought Harry, that looked all right. There was no point putting in the dream; he didn't want it to look as though he was too worried. **

"You should've put in about the dream." Sirius said with his eyebrows knit together.

Sammy smiled his eyes filled with amusement, "It hasn't happened yet, Papa." Sirius blushed while Severus looked at his son.

"Still he's right, if anything like this _ever_ happens we expect you to tell us so we know how to help you. I can understand that you've never had anyone to rely on...but now we are a family and we care about you...so much."

"Ok, Dad." Sammy said softly. Ron just pretended that he didn't hear any of it. It was a family moment and he didn't want to interrupt.

**He folded up the parchment and laid it aside on his desk, ready for when Hedwig returned. Then he got to his feet, stretched, and opened his wardrobe once more. Without glancing at his reflection he started to get dressed before going down to breakfast.**

* * *

**I've tried to fix the thing with the bold. That's how I originally wrote it...with J.K's work in bold...but it didn't work**


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